Selective exchange of vehicle operational data

ABSTRACT

Velocity information can be beneficial to various entities including other vehicles and a central traffic monitoring and routing system. Vehicles with sensors can serve as velocity probes to update speeds that are shared via a more global service. However, individuals may be reluctant to provide location and velocity information given privacy preferences. Local policies about sharing personal data are described that can be harnessed to enhance privacy while minimizing communication costs. The local data-sharing policies allow devices to monitor their own speeds and locations and to employ models and analyses that determine the value of sharing flow information with a larger service in accordance with privacy preferences, and to make local decisions as to when to respond to broadcasted queries for specific information, while minimizing the redundancy of signals from multiple vehicles.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of, and claims priority to, co-pending,commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/666,543, filed onNov. 1, 2012, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to,commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/163,631, filed onJun. 27, 2008, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,315,786, the contents ofboth being incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject specification relates generally to the sharing ofinformation that is sensed on personally-held devices and vehicles forlarger systems that provide populations with services based on theaggregation of such sensor data. A key example and application of themethods is in the sharing of sensed vehicle velocity and locationinformation for use in systems that provide traffic monitoring androuting services, and in particular to regulating the sharing of sensedinformation from the vehicle with a service that could make use of thedata.

BACKGROUND

Computer-driven route planning applications are utilized to aid users inlocating points of interest, such as particular buildings, addresses,and the like. Additionally, in several existent commercial applicationsusers can vary a zoom level, thereby enabling variation of context anddetail as a zoom level of a map is altered. For example, as a user zoomsin on a particular location, details such as names of local roads,identification and location of police and fire stations, identificationand location of public services, such as libraries, museums, and thelike can be provided to the user. When zooming out, the user can gleaninformation from the map such as location of the point of interestwithin a city, state, and/or country, proximity of the point of interestto major freeways, proximity of the point of interest to a specificcity, and the like. In some applications, satellite images can beutilized to provide users with additional detail regarding a particulargeographic location or region. For example, a prospective purchaser of ahouse can obtain an overhead satellite image of the house, therebyenabling the prospective purchaser to view lines of occupation,proximity of the house to other adjacent houses, and other informationthat can be pertinent to the user.

Furthermore, conventional computer-implemented mapping applicationsoften include route-planning applications that can be utilized toprovide users with directions between different locations. Pursuant toan example, a user can provide a route planning application with abeginning point of travel and an end point of travel (e.g., beginningand ending addresses). The route planning application can include orutilize representations of roads and intersections and one or morealgorithms to output a suggested route of travel. These algorithms canoutput routes depending upon user-selected parameters. For instance, acommercial route planning application can include a check box thatenables a user to specify that she wishes to avoid highways. Similarly,a user can inform the route planning application that she wishes totravel on a shortest route or a route that takes a least amount of time(as determined by underlying algorithms). Over the last several years,individuals have grown to rely increasingly on route planningapplications to aid them in everything from locating a friend's house toplanning cross-country road trips.

SUMMARY

The following discloses a simplified summary of the specification inorder to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of thespecification. This summary is not an extensive overview of thespecification. It is intended to neither identify key or criticalelements of the specification nor delineate the scope of thespecification. Its sole purpose is to disclose some concepts of thespecification in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is disclosed later.

Vehicles and people within them commonly retain a number of devices(e.g., navigation systems, personal digital assistants, cell phones)with sensors that can be used to gather a plurality of informationrelating to vehicle operation, user condition, and the like. Examples ofinformation that can be gathered include velocity information as well aslocation information. According to an aspect of the disclosedinnovation, the velocity information (e.g., commonly in conjunction withlocation information) can be used to create direction sets forindividual users, predictive traffic models, and the like.

Sharing of location and velocity information can be valuable to a systemthat is pooling such probe information from multiple vehicles. However,such data also can violate preferences about privacy of owners of thevehicles or sensors and also impose power usage required for running apotentially battery-operated sensor. Furthermore, the cost of deliveringor receiving information over a wide area wireless network such as acellular network can be high. Thus, it can be valuable to limit thesharing of data so data is shared within the constraints of the set ofpreferences on privacy, network usage costs are minimized, and powerusage held by the owner of the sensors. In addition, velocityinformation transfer can be limited based upon available communicationbandwidth. One approach to limiting the sharing is via the use ofsharing policies that are based locally, but that can optionally listento broadcasted needs for data about particular regions from a centralsystem or a shared distributed system that can compute when data fromparticular locations would be most valuable, and that also can bealerted to suppress sending redundant data when data in response to abroadcast request has been received from another vehicle or device.

A vehicle or device carried within the vehicle with locally-encodedsharing policies can include logic or inferential models that determineif there is an appropriate instance in which to transmit information. Auser that operates the vehicle can be part of a membership group thatsupplies velocity information and potentially other services to the userproviding that she supply her velocity information. The vehicle canobtain a request from other users or from a central system thatintegrates and redistributes the velocity information to supply velocityinformation and can contain resolution and privacy components that candetermine if the velocity information should be shared and thustransferred. For example, membership in a service or travel group canallow users to invoke a privacy filter that protects users from beingtracked or monitored except where and when they wish to share data, butalso can require some number of velocities or context-sensitivevelocities (e.g., shared about particular regions or road classes of aroad network and/or during certain time periods or congestionconditions, etc.) to be shared. If the criteria are met for sharing, andif the user has not yet provided enough velocity information to reach acommitment to share data over time or share enough data so as to retainmembership in the travel group, then the determination is made that therequest for data should be honored. A central or local, distributedcontact component can enable transmission of the information and anotice can be sent to similarly situated vehicles who may also beavailable to respond to the request for data instructing the similarvehicles not to respond since redundant information is likely totransfer. Such a contact component can limit the access of redundantinformation, so as to maximize the value of communication from allmembers, who can all commit to similar personal budgets for sharing overtime, or so as to limit incursions into privacy and to minimizecommunications when the information is likely to have little valuebecause it is redundant.

The following description and the annexed drawings set forth certainillustrative aspects of the specification. These aspects are indicative,however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of thespecification can be employed. Other advantages and novel features ofthe specification will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of the specification when considered in conjunction with thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a representative system for communication of travelinformation in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification.

FIG. 2 illustrates a representative system for communication of travelinformation highlighting a choice component in accordance with an aspectof the subject specification.

FIG. 3 illustrates a representative system for communication of travelinformation highlighting an obtainment component in accordance with anaspect of the subject specification.

FIG. 4 illustrates a representative system for communication of travelinformation highlighting a transmission component in accordance with anaspect of the subject specification.

FIG. 5 illustrates a representative system for communication of travelinformation highlighting a transaction component in accordance with anaspect of the subject specification.

FIG. 6 illustrates a representative system for communication of travelinformation highlighting a group component in accordance with an aspectof the subject specification.

FIG. 7 illustrates a representative system for communication of travelinformation highlighting a marker component in accordance with an aspectof the subject specification.

FIG. 8 illustrates a representative system for determining if travelinformation should be transmitted in accordance with an aspect of thesubject specification.

FIG. 9 illustrates a representative central server in accordance with anaspect of the subject specification.

FIG. 10 illustrates a representative multi-vehicle configuration inaccordance with an aspect of the subject specification.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example travel information processing methodologyin accordance with an aspect of the subject specification.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a schematic block diagram of acomputing environment in accordance with an aspect subjectspecification.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a block diagram of a computer operableto execute the disclosed architecture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It can beevident, however, that the claimed subject matter can be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-knownstructures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order tofacilitate describing the claimed subject matter.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,”“interface,” or the like are generally intended to refer to acomputer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a componentcan be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program,and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application runningon a controller and the controller can be a component. One or morecomponents can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and acomponent can be localized on one computer and/or distributed betweentwo or more computers. As another example, an interface can include I/Ocomponents as well as associated processor, application, and/or APIcomponents.

As used herein, the terms to “infer” or “inference” refer generally tothe process of reasoning about or deducing states of the system,environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured viaevents and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specificcontext or action, or can generate a probability distribution overstates, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, thecomputation of a probability distribution over states of interest basedon a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer totechniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set ofevents and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of newevents or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored eventdata, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporalproximity, and whether the events and data come from one or severalevent and data sources.

Furthermore, the claimed subject matter can be implemented as a method,apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), opticaldisks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . ),smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive . .. ). Additionally it should be appreciated that a carrier wave can beemployed to carry computer-readable electronic data such as those usedin transmitting and receiving electronic mail or in accessing a networksuch as the Internet or a local area network (LAN). Of course, thoseskilled in the art will recognize many modifications can be made to thisconfiguration without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimedsubject matter.

Moreover, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the wordexemplary is intended to disclose concepts in a concrete fashion. Asused in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive“or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise,or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of thenatural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; orX employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under anyof the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” asused in this application and the appended claims should generally beconstrued to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear fromcontext to be directed to a singular form. It is to be appreciated thatdeterminations or inferences referenced throughout the subjectspecification can be practiced through use of automated learning and/orreasoning techniques.

Now referring to FIG. 1, an example system 100 is disclosed forcommunicating travel information, including communication of velocityinformation of a vehicle 102 (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, motor boat,airplane, helicopter, and the like). Conventional vehicle trackingsystems transfer vehicle velocity information to a central server 104.For instance, if a user is in an automobile accident, recent velocityinformation can automatically transfer to the central server 104 and aninference can be made as to a severity of the accident. The disclosedinnovation can transfer vehicle velocity information to a central server104 and/or to other vehicles, where the velocity information can be usedto perform traffic routing.

Sensors 106 (e.g., engine, internal and external temperature, tirepressure, tire wear, terrain sensors, vibration, noise, air quality,power meters, fuel sensors, energy levels, energy utilization, userstress, user feedback, voice recognition, facial recognition, gesturerecognition, language parsers, text input etc.) are employed to collectinformation relating to the vehicle 102, a driver, passengers,environment, etc. Among the sensed information (e.g., travel informationcan include at least a portion of sensed information) can be locationand velocity information of the vehicle 102 as sensed by such sensors asa global positioning system device, radio or cellular signals,accelerometers, and such “dead-reckoning” tracking such as the rotationof tires and the configuration of steering, as well as others. Localknowledge of the road network (e.g. using a map database on a globalpositioning system device) can be used to further refine the sensedlocation, direction, and lane usage (e.g. if a vehicle follows a freewayinterchange, the velocity information can be identified as pertainingspecifically to the lane required to make the interchange). Velocityinformation can include current or history of locations joined with thecurrent or history of velocities of the vehicle 102, acceleration of aperiod of time, acceleration across a distance, and the like.

A resolution component 108 can determine if travel information (e.g.,velocity information, location information, etc.) should be transmittedto an auxiliary entity. People can consider velocity informationpersonal data that they do not want broadcast. Due to this concern,selection can occur if the velocity information should be transmitted.For instance, the resolution component 102 can operate in a pull model,where information is extracted by the auxiliary entity, such as thecentral server 104. A request for velocity information can transfer fromthe central server 104 to the vehicle 102 and the resolution component108 determined if the request should be granted. For instance, theresolution component 108 can balance a level of need for the informationof the auxiliary entity against a desire of a user to keep velocityinformation private. A contact component 110 can enable emission of thetravel information if it is determined that the travel informationshould be emitted. For example, the contact component 110 can send anotice to a transmitter that the velocity information can betransferred.

In an alternative embodiment, the resolution component 108 can operatein a push model, where travel information is willingly transferred to anauxiliary entity. In an illustrative instance, the resolution component108 can use a timer circuit to measure how long a period passes since aprevious transmission of velocity information. If enough time passes,then the resolution component 108 can determine that an update should besent and the contract component 110 can be instructed to enable emissionof the update. In another illustrative instance, the resolutioncomponent 108 can reference knowledge of the road network (e.g. using amap database on a global positioning system device) to measure when thevehicle has traversed to a new road segment for which traffic data canbe reported. If the vehicle has traversed to a new road segment asstored in the map database, the resolution component 108 can determinethat an update should be sent and the contract component 110 can beinstructed to enable emission of the update. Commonly, the travelinformation is velocity information of a vehicle that associates withthe resolution component and the contact component (e.g., the resolutioncomponent and contact component are integrated upon the vehicle, locatedupon a device in communication with the vehicle, on a personalelectronic device of a user located within the vehicle, etc.)—thevelocity information can include speed of the vehicle 102, rate of speedof the vehicle 102 over time, location information of when velocity ismeasured, and the like.

A balance can occur between a desire of a user to keep travelinformation private against a desire of a central entity to obtainspecific travel information. Local policies can be used in regulatingtravel information distribution, commonly based upon a desire of a userto keep information private. However, the central server 104 and/orother local vehicles can posses a strong desire to obtain the velocityinformation. Therefore, balancing can occur between an interest of auser against a collective interest to collect information. The localpolicy can be programmed by a user, inferred through observation of usertendencies, and the like—in an example, a user can set the policy suchthat travel information is not disclosed unless a speed of the vehicle102 is below a threshold percentage of an expected speed (e.g., a speedlimit, a contextual speed such as during heavy traffic, etc.). In analternate example, a user can set the policy such that if the velocityof the vehicle 102 is above the posted speed limit, the velocityreported is not the user's true velocity but instead the posted speedlimit. Such a policy would limit the user's legal liability incurred byparticipating in such a system, and reduce privacy concerns for theuser.

In an illustrative example, a request can be made by the central server104 to collect velocity information of a particular vehicle. Theresolution component 108 can analyze the request in addition tocontextual data, such as how much information the vehicle 102 haspreviously provided, time of day, other vehicles available, and thelike. Based upon the analysis, a determination can be made on if travelinformation should be disclosed.

In one example set of policies, data is not transmitted and is onlyconsidered for transmission when the current locally sensed velocity ofa vehicle differs significantly (e.g., is lower or higher by somethreshold) from the velocity that is known by a local system ordetermined by the local system to be the velocity that is expected by alarger, shared system that aggregates and distributes current velocityinformation from all vehicles in the region where the vehicle is sensingor is employing predictions about velocities in a region. For example,the local policy can assert only transmit data when the current speedsare slower by at least a threshold factor based (e.g., a vehicletravelling about 35 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone or a zonethat is expected to be wide open and flowing at 50-65 miles an hour at acurrent time, on Saturdays at 2 pm, local time, as captured instatistics that are stored locally) on a type of road than the expectedspeeds for that location or road segment(s) as accessed in a table ofcontext-sensitive speeds available to the local devices or via a livebroadcast from a central system about traffic in the region where avehicle is sensing. Computed differences between sensed and expectedvelocity can be based on the difference between the sensed velocity andspeeds that can be inferred locally by a predictive model, that infersexpected speeds based on multiple factors, including contextual factors(e.g., time of day, day of week, weather, accidents up ahead, etc.) androad properties (posted speeds lanes, etc.), and that is known to beused by a central service or other members of service, or as tables ofpredicted speeds computed as simple functions of posted speeds thatdefine speed limits. In an illustrative instance, if a sensed velocityis relatively high, but contextually is estimated that velocity shouldbe low (e.g., it is during rush hour), then the resolution component 108can transfer the sensed velocity as travel information.

Other local policies for sharing include referring to a locally storedtable of highly-variable regions of a highway system or regions thattend to vary greatly during particular times of day and days of week, orbased on other contextual cues. Such contextual cues can be sensedlocally and then can alert the system 100 (e.g., the vehicle 102 and/orcentral server 104) that current velocity information will likely be ofvalue. More measures of information value than using the overall rawvariance at the current region of a road network being traversed,include variances that are conditioned on the current context (e.g.,time of day, day of week, weather, etc.), and other pre-computedquantities including, more formal measures of current information valueof location and velocity information, including statistical measures ofsurprise that a system observing the region would have in learning aboutthe current flow and computations of the formal expected value ofinformation of sharing the current velocity, as well as measures thatare transformed or re-weighted by the importance of the current orfuture segments per, e.g., the frequency of usage of the segment in thetransportation or routing considerations of populations of drivers.Local decisions can be based on such criteria as those describedthroughout the subject specification and can be used together withcentrally generated queries for data.

Different pieces of information, such as collected materials, componentoperating instructions (e.g., of the resolution component 108),historical travel information, etc. can be held on storage 112. Storage112 can arrange in a number of different configurations, including asrandom access memory, battery-backed memory, hard disk, magnetic tape,etc. Various features can be implemented upon storage 112, such ascompression and automatic back up (e.g., use of a Redundant Array ofIndependent Drives configuration).

Now referring to FIG. 2, an example system 200 is disclosed forcommunication of travel information to an auxiliary entity through useof a choice component 202. A vehicle 102 can be in communication with acentral server 104 such that velocity information can transfer betweentwo entities. Sensors 106 can measure the velocity information andretain the measurement in storage 112 of FIG. 1.

A choice component 202 can select at least one instance when the travelinformation should be transmitted, the resolution component 108determines if the travel information should be transmitted as a functionof the selection. According to one embodiment, the travel information isvelocity information of a vehicle 102 that associates with theresolution component 108 and a contact component 110 and at least oneinstance is selected when velocity of the vehicle 102 is above, at, orbelow a threshold. Through predictive models, the central server 104 canestimate how many vehicles pass through a specific area during a settime. An assumption can be made by the central server 104 that if nonotices are transmitted, then vehicles are operating at expected speeds.The choice component 202 can function such that if the vehicle has avelocity v at x percent above or below a posted speed limit, then thecontact component 110 can enable emission of the velocity v inconjunction with a location where velocity v is taken. The centralserver 104 can process a transmission and used the velocity v asindicative of traffic patterns for traffic routing purposes. Forinstance, a low velocity can be indicative that traffic is heavy andvehicles should be routed away from an area and a high velocity can beindicative of little traffic, thus vehicles should be routed to thearea. According to an alternate embodiment, the travel information canbe velocity information of a vehicle 102 that associates with theresolution component 108 and the contact component 110 and at least oneinstance is selected when a measured velocity is against an anticipatedvelocity derived from a predictive traffic model. The contact component110 can function to enable emission of the travel information if it isdetermined that the travel information should be emitted.

According to one embodiment, the travel information is velocityinformation. Velocity information can be selected based on difference ofcurrent velocity and anticipated velocity derived from posted speeds, anexpected speed for the road segment that is transmitted from a centralservice, a stored table of velocities, use of a predictive trafficmodel, or a combination thereof. Additionally, historical variance ofroad speeds of a region overall or based on the current or relatedcontext can be employed in the determination to share velocityinformation. Moreover, a measure of expected value of information orexpected value of information weighted by usage of a segment can be usedin the determination to share velocity information.

Historical or estimated densities of vehicles on roads, in conjunctionwith a characterization of prevalence of membership in the use of anaggregation service in a region, can be used to compute a likelihoodthat traffic is flowing per expectation, when reports are not receivedfor a specified observation period. That is, the central server 104 cancompute a likelihood that not hearing information about unexpected flowson a road segment means that traffic is flowing and within bounds of thepredicted, posted speed, broadcasted, average speeds, or other data thatis being used as a reference point.

Now referring to FIG. 3, an example system 300 is disclosed fortransmitting travel information concerning a vehicle 102 to an auxiliaryentity such as a central server 104 through use of an obtainmentcomponent 302. The central server 104 can transmit a request to thevehicle 102 for travel information such as a current or historicalvelocity of the vehicle 102. The obtainment component 302 can collectand process a request. Processing the request can include identifyingmetadata associated with the request, such as a name of an entity thatsent the request, determining when the request is sent, authenticatingthe request, and the like. For example a request can be received by thevehicle 102 in a region stating “there is a need for anyone who is onroad R traveling north between location x and location y to providevelocity information.” According to one embodiment, the travelinformation (e.g., velocity information) is emitted at a random timeafter collection of the request within a specified tolerance (e.g.,within about one minute of receiving a request).

According to one embodiment, once the request is received sensors 106(e.g., one or more sensors) can obtain velocity information. However, itis possible for the sensors 106 to gather information continuously andinformation is designated for transfer upon reception and/or successfulprocessing of a request via the obtainment component 302. The resolutioncomponent 108 can determine if the travel information should be sent—forinstance, successful processing by the obtainment component 302 canindicate that velocity information should be transferred to the centralserver 104. A contact component 110 can enable emission of the travelinformation if it is determined that the travel information should beemitted. Once a response is transmitted by the vehicle 102, a notice canbe sent to other vehicles of the transmission thus allowing the othervehicles to retain privacy information. The notice can be sent by thevehicle 102 upon transmission, by the central server 104 aftersuccessful collection of velocity information, and the like. Inaddition, information validation can occur to determine if transferredinformation is credible before other vehicle suppress information.

According to another embodiment, a general broadcast can be updated toreflect traffic status. Multiple vehicles in one area can send velocityinformation to a central server, where the central server processes theinformation and transfers the information to other vehicles and/or usesthe information to create travel routes for vehicles. Velocityinformation can be compared against one another to determine if there issignificant variation among results as well as compared againstinformation of a digital service. If there is not specific variation,then vehicles can choose stop sending information. However, in somesituations, it can be desirable to have redundant data, so informationcan still be collected even if redundant. For example, one vehicletravelling slowly might not be indicative of an overall traffic patternchange, so information can still be collected to determine if there isan actual change or an isolated incident. Additionally, some velocityinformation can be ignored, such as vehicles that are at a toll booth,vehicles that a stopped due to mechanical problems, high-occupancyvehicles, and the like. Moreover, information from certain vehicles canbe weighted—if a long-haul truck typically travels about ten miles perhour less than an average speed of other vehicle, velocity informationof the long-haul truck can be increased by about ten miles per hour.

Now referring to FIG. 4, an example system 400 is disclosed fortransferring travel information to an auxiliary entity through use of atransmission component 402. A vehicle 102 can be in communication with acentral server 104, nearby vehicles via an ad-hoc network connection, oranother auxiliary entity. Sensors 106 can measure various travel dataincluding velocity information of the vehicle 102. The sensors 106 canautomatically gather data or selectively gather information inaccordance with explicit instruction (e.g., instruction that is part ofthe request collected by the obtainment component 302 of FIG. 3).

A resolution component 108 can determine if travel information should becommunicated to another entity. If a positive determination is made bythe resolution component 108, then a contact component 110 can enableemission of the travel information. With the enabled emission, atransmission component 402 can emit the travel information to theauxiliary entity. Transmission can occur wirelessly and since sometravel information can be considered personal, various measures can beimplemented in order to secure privacy. For instance, velocityinformation that is emitted from the vehicle 102 can be encrypted, andany identifying information can be removed for the purposes of velocitysharing.

According to one embodiment, the transmission component 402 transfers asuppression notice to at least one supplemental vehicle, the resolutioncomponent 108 and contact component 110 associate with a primary vehicle(e.g., the vehicle 102). If one vehicle transfers velocity information,then it could be redundant for other vehicles to send similarinformation (e.g., many vehicles in an area slow below a threshold).Therefore, when one vehicle successfully sends information, a notice canbe sent to other vehicles that there is no need to send the sameinformation.

Now referring to FIG. 5, an example system 500 is disclosed forrewarding a user for disclosing velocity information. Sensors 106 ofFIG. 1 can be used to track velocity information of a vehicle 102.Commonly, the tracking of velocity information occurs as a result of anauxiliary entity, such as a central server 104 that intends to use theinformation for traffic routing purposes. A resolution component 108 candetermine if velocity information should be transmitted and a contactcomponent 108 can enable transmission if a positive determination ismade.

A transmission component 402 can emit velocity information to thecentral server 104, to another vehicle, and the like. The vehicle 102can include a transaction component 502 that performs a reward functionin relation to emission of the travel information, the reward functionincludes transfer of money to an account associated with a user,transfer of a pathway toll credit, transfer of points that can be usedto obtain a product or service, continued access to system-wide trafficinformation and other local services, and the like. According to oneembodiment, the transaction component 502 can be in communication with acentral server 104 that functions as a bank, credit card company,governmental organization, etc.

Now referring to FIG. 6, an example system 600 is disclosed forfacilitating membership in a group that shares travel information. Avehicle 102 can determine that velocity information should be gatheredthought use of sensors 106 of FIG. 1. A request can be collected thatthe velocity information should transfer to a central server 104. If therequest is authenticated and it is determined that the velocityinformation should be transferred, then a contact component 108 canenable transmission (e.g., turn a transmitter to an ‘on’ state).

Since some travel information, such as velocity information, can beconsidered private, incentives can be used to encourage a user to sharesuch information. A group component 602 can facilitate a user of avehicle to be part of an information sharing group. By sharing herinformation, the user can become a group member and be entitled toreceive travel information of other vehicles. For example, if the usersupplies her velocity y times a month, then she is a member and receivedinformation from other members. In an alternate example, members of agroup may be able to pay discounted rates for system-wide traffic andother services in exchange for increased sharing of information to thesystem.

A track component 604 can measures a number of instances thetransmission component 402 of FIG. 4 emits the travel information. Arelationship component 606 can determines if the number of instances isat or above a threshold that enables the vehicle 102 associated with theresolution component 108 and contact component 110 to gain membership ina travel group. Oftentimes, membership in the travel group enables thevehicle 102 to gather travel information (e.g., velocity information)that concerns at least one other vehicle of the travel group, or travelinformation derived from other conventional sources, or other servicesaltogether.

Determinations and/or inferences discussed throughout the subjectspecification can occur through artificial reasoning and/or learningtechniques. Automated reasoning and/or learning techniques can employone of numerous methodologies for learning from data and then drawinginferences and/or making determinations related to applying a service(e.g., Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and related prototypical dependencymodels, more general probabilistic graphical models, such as Bayesiannetworks, e.g., created by structure search using a Bayesian model scoreor approximation, linear classifiers, such as support vector machines(SVMs), non-linear classifiers, such as methods referred to as “neuralnetwork” methodologies, fuzzy logic methodologies, and other approachesthat perform data fusion, etc.) in accordance with implementing variousautomated aspects described herein. Methods also include methods for thecapture of logical relationships such as with the use of formal theoremproving systems or more heuristic rule-based expert systems that reasonvia the chaining of If-Then rules.

Now referring to FIG. 7, an example system 700 is disclosed for usingpersonal landmarks in a manner to regulate information transmission. Avehicle 102 can receive a request from a central server 104 to collectvelocity information. Sensors 106 of FIG. 1 can measure the informationand a resolution component 108 can determine if the measured informationshould transfer to an entity identified by the central server 104. If itis determined that the velocity information should be transferred, thena contact component 110 can enable communication.

One manner to regulate if velocity information should transfer isthrough use of personal and more general landmarks. Personal landmarkscan be considered private areas where it is assumed a user does notdesire to have her velocity information broadcast. For example, anindividual's home or a radius of several miles around a home can beconsidered a personal landmark or personal region defining a location orarea where a user wants certain information kept private.

A marker component 702 can facilitate use of landmarks with regard todisclosure of travel information. According to one embodiment, theresolution component 108 can operate such that velocity information isnot transferred if the vehicle 102 is within a distance of a personallandmark (e.g., a certain distance, number of city blocks, and thelike). A range component 704 can obtain a distance from a personallandmark. If the vehicle 102 associated with the resolution component108 is within a standard distance from the personal landmark, then it isautomatically determined that the travel information should not betransmitted.

The marker component 702 can also function to create new landmarks whenappropriate. An identification component 706 can designate a location asa personal landmark through measurement of an amount of time a user, thevehicle 102 associated with the resolution component 108 and contactcomponent 110, an entity that retains the resolution component 108 andcontact component 110, or a combination thereof spends at a location.For example, a user could spend a relatively long time at a house of hisgirlfriend and an inference can be made that the house should be apersonal landmark based upon the time he spends at the house.

Now referring to FIG. 8, an example system 800 is disclosed forregulating velocity information transfer in relation to a vehicle (e.g.,the vehicle 102 of FIG. 1). An identification component 802 can identifyan appropriate instance for transmission of velocity informationconcerning a vehicle—commonly through, comparison with velocityinformation known system-wide, receiving a request, reference toknowledge of the road network (e.g. from a map database), or through useof a timing circuit. The identification component 802 can operate asmeans for identifying that velocity information of a vehicle should betransmitted to an auxiliary entity through comparison of a sensedvelocity against a threshold.

A resolution component 108 can determine if the velocity informationshould be transmitted. A range component 704 can measure a distance avehicle associated with the system 800 is from at least one personallandmark. The range component 704 can function as means for determiningif the vehicle is within a specified range of a personal landmark. Inaddition to determining if there is a personal landmark that can dictatevelocity information transfer, a check component 804 can determine ifthere is a suppression instruction from another vehicle and/or comparevelocity information against information from another vehicle todetermine if there is redundancy and therefore additional information isnot needed, would waste processing resources, and the like. Thesuppression instruction and/or comparison can be evaluation to determinerelevancy, freshness, and the like. The check component 804 canimplement as means for checking if there is an instruction from asupplemental vehicle that velocity information should not betransmitted. If it is an appropriate action, such as there is no nearbypersonal landmark or suppression instruction, then the contractcomponent 110 can enable communication of velocity information. Thecontact component 110 can operate as means for enabling the velocityinformation to be transferred if the vehicle is not within the specifiedrange and there is not an instruction from a supplemental vehicle.

Now referring to FIG. 9, an example central server 104 is disclosed. Acommunication component 902 can engage with at least one vehicle tolearn velocity information. Operation can take place wirelessly, in ahard-wired manner, using employment of security technology (e.g.,encryption), etc. Information transfer can be active (e.g.,query/response) or passive (e.g., monitoring of public communicationsignals). Moreover, the communication component 902 can utilize variousprotective features, such as performing a virus scan on collected dataand blocking information that is positive for a virus.

A processor 904 (e.g., a processor operatively coupled to storage) canperform actions upon a received response and/or determine a manner inwhich to make a request for travel information. For example, a pluralityof information can transfer from a vehicle to a central server,including vehicle identification details, travel information, and thelike. The processor can extract desirable information, such a velocityof a vehicle that sends a response and freshness of the response.Additionally, the processor 904 can determine a region of interest andrequest that at least one vehicle in the region of interest respond withvelocity information (e.g., a region is determined based on freshness ofinformation).

An analysis component 906 can evaluate the velocity and make at leastone inference or determination based upon the velocity. For example, avehicle that is below a threshold can indicate a particular route isexperiencing traffic congestion problems. A routing component 908 canalter a direction set for a user base upon the velocity and/or a resultof the analysis. For example, if a route is inferred to be congested,then the routing component 908 can alter a direction set to avoid thecongested route. The communication component 902 can be employed totransfer the altered direction set.

It is to be appreciated that components disclosed in the subjectspecification can be applied to the central server, even when shown aspart of a vehicle. For example, a central server 104 can have atransmission component that is similar in functionality to thetransmission component 402 of FIG. 4. Moreover, an ad-hoc mesh networkof vehicles can also be used (e.g., a network that functions without acentral server that is organically created, maintained, etc.).Additionally, while FIG. 9 highlights components as part of a centralserver 104, it is to be appreciated that functionality can occur as partof other units. For instance, the routing component 908 can implementupon a vehicle (e.g., the vehicle 102 of FIG. 1) or a personalelectronic device such as a cellular telephone and locally manipulate adirection set.

As opposed to monitoring vehicles, the central server 104 can operateusing a polling or query-response configuration. As opposed tocontinuously monitoring vehicles, which would impose on the privacy ofindividuals in vehicles, the central server 104 can determine anappropriate time to collect travel information, commonly based onhistorical data, contextual information, and such computations as valueof information and the like. A query for information can be transmittedto multiple vehicles. If a vehicle answers, then the central server 104can process the response and send a supplemental transmissioninstructing other vehicles not to transfer travel information. In analternate embodiment, the central server 104 can collect information andnot send a suppression instruction—the central server 104 limitsinformation broadcast and thus implements implicit suppression. Thus,information of only one vehicle is obtained and privacy of many othervehicles can be kept. According to one configuration, the query can bedirected to vehicles within a region per requests for queries that arerelevant only to specific coordinates, as determined by locally detectedcoordinates; however, larger scale and more open-ended broadcasts can beavailable. In addition, while queries are discussed as part of thecentral server 104, it is to be appreciated that vehicles can transferqueries among one another to gain information (e.g., continuous queriestransferred between vehicles traveling along one road) and to notifyother vehicles that data about the flows in the local region havealready been transmitted so as to limit the transmission of redundantinformation from a vehicle and/or central server).

As vehicles locally have data about where they are, they do not need tobe monitored in advance by a centralized or distributed trafficmonitoring system. Vehicles can make decisions based on the broadcastedqueries seeking data about regions or on system-wide knowledge ofexpected velocities based on reports from other vehicles and/or sources.For example, a query can be received via a wide broadcast about aperceived need for velocity information of any vehicle on a specificroad between lat-long x,y and lat-long x′,y′, between a current time tand some future time t′. Such a need might be computed, e.g., based on avalue-of-information computation performed at a central location, thatconsiders other data received and context, as well as historical data.Each vehicle listening to the broadcasts can be able to determinelocally whether their data is being sought, and so can share withoutbeing monitored in advance. Thus, vehicles do not have to reveal wherethey are in advance of receiving such a broadcast and each can make alocal decision about whether to share velocity and location data that isconsistent with the local privacy policy (e.g., within the constraintsof personal policies with regard to a budget on sharing data, greaterthan an minimal preferred inter-time interval, allowable location andvelocity for sharing data about location and velocity). The fullvalue-of-information machinery can also be executed locally so as toperform such inferences and deliberation without the need forbroadcasts.

Different policies can be employed to minimize acquisition of redundantdata from multiple cars in a general region in response to a broadcastedneed (e.g., request from a central traffic monitoring and sharingservice) and/or locally determined policy (e.g., the sensed velocity isdetermined to be far slower than the velocity known to be expected at alocation via a transmitted or onboard table or prediction). Minimizinginformation can benefit both a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102 of FIG. 1) aswell as the central server 104. Few vehicles can provide informationthus protecting overall privacy and the central server 104 does not needto waste resources processing redundant data.

In one approach, a “redundacy avoidance” policy for transmittal of datais used by having each car wait an amount of time under a deadline thatis generated as a function of the output of a random number generator.When the answer to a query has been received from the first vehicle toreport the data, a signal, either sent locally to proximal vehicles ortransmitted from the central traffic integrator, can tell all othercandidate vehicles to withhold the transmission, the sufficient data hasbeen received and that the other data will be redundant. Such a policycan enhance the value of data from each vehicle within budgets andtransmission policies as dictated by privacy and power-consumptionpreferences of each vehicle. Other policies for avoiding thetransmission of redundant information from multiple vehicles can be toemploy queries for a sequence of more precise location coordinates, suchthat the chance of more than one car being queried for data is low, andto continue to query for adjacent positions until a vehicle fitting thequeried criteria (and with available information per privacy and powerpreferences) answers the query. That is, given a road segment andheading of interest, a central system can “scan” for a provider of roadvelocity along its path by issuing queries in sequence for vehicles insubsegments within the segments, traveling up or down the whole segmentof interest in terms of the specified desired latitude and longitudevalues until a vehicle reports data, given its privacy constraints.Given a failure to receive a response, a set of coordinates can bereissued, effectively “rastering” over the pathway as vehicles moving onit, until one vehicle reports.

Such queries can be done in the absence of monitoring of vehicles, butthat can still allow vehicles to be asked in real-time or in advance(per predictions of future needs) if they can share data (e.g., senseddata that identifies that road speeds are much slower than the speedsthat are expected in a location) in an on-demand manner, a centraltraffic-monitoring system can issue broadcasted queries for information.These broadcasted queries can be used in conjunction with the localpolicies for sharing velocity data described throughout the subjectspecification. Data about velocities at specific regions can beexplicitly requested via queries for location-specific velocity datasent by larger-scale broadcasts from a central system—or, in a moredistributed system, from one or more specific vehicles that can benefitfrom proactive information about future road segments that are beingconsidered or are part of current plans. For example, a query canoriginate from one or more cars that can benefit from the velocity dataabout regions of a route that they anticipate experiencing or canexperience via a forthcoming routing decision. Such cars can be thosevehicles trailing a particular vehicle, either on a same road or thatexpects to traverse the same route at a future time, or that would liketo consider that route segment in deliberation about a best route.Requests can be made through local transmissions or brokered through amore central traffic monitoring and coordination system. It is to beappreciated where examples disclose a vehicle type (e.g., car) othervehicles types can be substituted.

Now referring to FIG. 10, an example vehicle configuration 1000 isdisclosed in relation to aspects disclosed in the subject specification.A vehicle 102 can retain a resolution component 108 that determines iftravel information regarding the vehicle 102 should be transmitted.Commonly, the travel information is velocity information and/or locationinformation. If it is determined that the travel information should becommunicated, then a contact component 110 can enable transmission ofthe travel information.

According to one embodiment, the travel information can be distributedlocally to certain vehicles. For instance, six nearby vehicles,designated vehicles A-F, can surround the vehicle 102. Vehicles E and Bcan be in the same driving lane as the vehicle 102 while the othervehicles are in adjacent lanes. Different standards can be used todetermine what vehicles obtain travel information of another vehicle.For example, the vehicle 102 can experience a drastic drop in velocitythat goes below a set threshold. A distance standard can be used, suchthat vehicles A, B, and C are physically close to the vehicle 102 andtherefore are provided the travel information. In a differentconfiguration, vehicles B and E that are in a common lane to the vehicle102 can be provided the information through an inference that vehiclesthat have a highest chance of influence from the drop in velocity of thevehicle 102 (e.g., lane information is gathered by cameras). Informationsharing can also occur as membership of a travel group—if vehicles A, D,and F are part of an information sharing group, then they will betransferred the velocity information while vehicles B, C, and E are not.There can be an override to membership with regard to safety; forinstance, even if vehicle B is not part of the membership group it canstill receive the velocity information since there is a decline, vehicleB is in the same lane as vehicle 102, and vehicle B and the vehicle 102are physically close to one another (e.g., there is a relatively highlikelihood of an accident).

According to another embodiment, an election can take place to determinea vehicle that should communicate velocity information. For example, ofthe six vehicles mentioned above, one can be designated to supplyinformation (e.g., selected randomly, through use of an algorithm,through a cyclical queue, etc.). If the six vehicles are travelling atabout a same speed, then there can be saving of resources by limitingentities that transmits information. There can also be metadataassociated with velocity information—in one instance, a central servercan identify six vehicles travelling in about one position (e.g.,determined through global positioning) and one of the six vehicles canbe designated to supply information. Supplied information can beassociated with metadata stating that the reading represents travel ofabout six vehicles. In addition, security measures can take place toensure accuracy. For instance, if a rouge vehicle (e.g., a vehicle thatsends out a wrong reading) is elected, contextual information can beused to determine if validity of information supplied by the rougevehicle. One manner is to compare velocity information against a roadtype (e.g., twelve miles per hour on a highway can be indicative of arouge vehicle). If there is a relatively high likelihood of a rougevehicle, then another reading can be obtained from at least one of theother five vehicles.

While aspects are disclosed regarding traffic changes along one road, itis to be appreciated that velocity of one road can be indicative oftraffic upon another road. For example, along a first road an accidentcan occur that causes a massive decrease in traffic. This can beindicative of a future increase in traffic along a second road adjacentto the first road since travelers along the first road are likely tochange roads to avoid the accident.

Now referring to FIG. 11, an example methodology 1100 is disclosed foroperation of a travel information management configuration. A desire tocollect velocity information along a set area can be recognized ataction 1102. For instance, a user can make a request to travel betweentwo places and a road is commonly used to link those places—thus, thereis a desire to learn how fast vehicles are travelling upon that road.Thus, there can be recognizing a desire to collect velocity informationwhere an instruction is not transferred without an identified desire.While specific aspects are disclosed for a user requesting informationfor a route, it is to be appreciated that other configurations can bepracticed. For example, an accurate traffic model can be retained andperiodically or continuously be updated. Upon request, a central servercan provide information related to the traffic model to a vehicle.

At block 1104, there can be identifying if there is a previous instanceof velocity information collection from a designated road. For example,a determination can be made that velocity information from a particularroad has not been collected within a period. Thus, block 1104 canrepresent identifying a previous instance of collecting information.

A trigger 1106 can occur determining if information collected in theprevious instance is of an appropriate freshness level and/or can occurafter data becomes stale, is no longer current (e.g., there is a changein weather), and the like. A policy can be that if information is morethan x minutes old, then information is considered not fresh. If theinformation is fresh enough, then previous information can be used atevent 1108. However, if previously gathered information is not recentenough, then the methodology 1100 can attempt to gather information thatis more recent.

At block 1110, there can be classifying an area upon which velocityinformation should be collected, the selected vehicle is located uponthe classified area. For instance, when a user desires to travel betweentwo locations where there is one main road, then the classified area canbe the road. In addition, an appropriate time can be determined at event1112. For example, if the specified road is not to be travelled upon formany hours, then a later time can be selected so information can be of ahigher freshness level.

There can be selecting at least one vehicle upon which an instruction tosupply travel information is transferred at event 1114. For example,selection of a vehicle can occur as a function of balancing membershiprequirements. A membership standard be that a vehicle produce travelinformation x times over y period. If a first vehicle previouslyproduced travel information x times over y period and a second vehicleproduced travel information x−2 times over y period, then an instructioncan transfer to the second vehicle since a membership quota is not yetmet. Ultimately, the instruction can be transferred at action 1116. Inan alternate embodiment, event 1114 and action 1116 can representscanning for a vehicle that matches a longitude range, latitude range,and directional range (e.g., north, north+/−15 degrees, etc.) as well ashalting scanning upon discovering a matching vehicle, discovery occursupon a response from the matching vehicle. Thus, locating vehicles andsending an instruction are done in one instance, where a broadcast isprovided making a request and the broadcast is used to locate a vehicle.

A vehicle can process the instruction and return the travel information.There can then be collecting velocity information that relocates fromthe at least one vehicle that is transferred the instruction at event1118. The information can transfer to another vehicle, be used togenerate a direction set, be used in creating a general traffic model,and the like. According to one configuration, successful obtainment oftravel information can enable a reward to be supplied to an entity atact 1120.

For purposes of simplicity of explanation, methodologies that can beimplemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter were shownand described as a series of blocks. However, it is to be understood andappreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the orderof the blocks, as some blocks can occur in different orders and/orconcurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and describedherein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks can be required toimplement the methodologies described hereinafter. Additionally, itshould be further appreciated that the methodologies disclosedthroughout this specification are capable of being stored on an articleof manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring suchmethodologies to computers. The term article of manufacture, as used, isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media.

A personal electronic device can include Wifi (potentially short for‘wireless fidelity’) capabilities that can work in an ad-hoc, low powermode to create local meshes of observation nodes (e.g., vehicles). Inone example, a relatively large number of vehicles are deceleratingtowards a congested spot on a road; as the devices notice this slow-down(trend of velocity) a notice can be transferred to members of the meshthat some vehicles are experiencing a downward trend. The vehicles candevice among themselves a vehicle that can notify a central service ofthe trend. The mesh can be organic and develop based upon variouscharacteristics—such as losing mesh members as members exit a highwaysystem (e.g., through use of an off-ramp). Additionally, differentvehicles can be requested to be more diligent about travel. Forinstance, if a vehicle is approaching an area with heavy traffic duringrush hour, then a request can be given to the vehicle to provideinformation more frequently so it can be determined when rush hourbegins.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIGS. 12 and 13 as well as the following discussion areintended to provide a brief, general description of a suitableenvironment in which the various aspects of the disclosed subject mattercan be implemented. While the subject matter has been described above inthe general context of computer-executable instructions of a programthat runs on one or more computers, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the subject matter described herein also can beimplemented in combination with other program modules. Generally,program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures,etc. that perform particular tasks and/or implement particular abstractdata types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that theinventive methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including single-processor, multiprocessor or multi-coreprocessor computer systems, mini-computing devices, mainframe computers,as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices (e.g.,personal digital assistant (PDA), phone, watch . . . ),microprocessor-based or programmable consumer or industrial electronics,and the like. The illustrated aspects can also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network.However, some, if not all aspects of the claimed subject matter can bepracticed on stand-alone computers. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules can be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is illustrated a schematic block diagramof a computing environment 1200 in accordance with the subjectspecification. The system 1200 includes one or more client(s) 1202. Theclient(s) 1202 can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads,processes, computing devices). The client(s) 1202 can house cookie(s)and/or associated contextual information by employing the specification,for example.

The system 1200 also includes one or more server(s) 1204. The server(s)1204 can also be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes,computing devices). The servers 1204 can house threads to performtransformations by employing the specification, for example. Onepossible communication between a client 1202 and a server 1204 can be inthe form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or morecomputer processes. The data packet can include a cookie and/orassociated contextual information, for example. The system 1200 includesa communication framework 1206 (e.g., a global communication networksuch as the Internet) that can be employed to facilitate communicationsbetween the client(s) 1202 and the server(s) 1204.

Communications can be facilitated via a wired (including optical fiber)and/or wireless technology. The client(s) 1202 are operatively connectedto one or more client data store(s) 1208 that can be employed to storeinformation local to the client(s) 1202 (e.g., cookie(s) and/orassociated contextual information). Similarly, the server(s) 1204 areoperatively connected to one or more server data store(s) 1210 that canbe employed to store information local to the servers 1204.

Referring now to FIG. 13, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputer operable to execute the disclosed architecture. In order toprovide additional context for various aspects of the subjectspecification, FIG. 13 and the following discussion are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment1300 in which the various aspects of the specification can beimplemented. While the specification has been described above in thegeneral context of computer-executable instructions that can run on oneor more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that thespecification also can be implemented in combination with other programmodules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

The illustrated aspects of the specification can also be practiced indistributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed byremote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can belocated in both local and remote memory storage devices.

A computer typically includes a variety of computer-readable media.Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer-readable media can comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information such as computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computerstorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD)or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by the computer.

Communication media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includesany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the anyof the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

With reference again to FIG. 13, the example environment 1300 forimplementing various aspects of the specification includes a computer1302, the computer 1302 including a processing unit 1304, a systemmemory 1306 and a system bus 1308. The system bus 1308 couples systemcomponents including, but not limited to, the system memory 1306 to theprocessing unit 1304. The processing unit 1304 can be any of variouscommercially available processors or proprietary specific configuredprocessors. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architecturescan also be employed as the processing unit 1304.

The system bus 1308 can be any of several types of bus structure thatcan further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 1306includes read-only memory (ROM) 1310 and random access memory (RAM)1312. A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatilememory 1310 such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basicroutines that help to transfer information between elements within thecomputer 1302, such as during start-up. The RAM 1312 can also include ahigh-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 1302 further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)1314 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 1314 can also beconfigured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), amagnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1316, (e.g., to read from or write to aremovable diskette 1318) and an optical disk drive 1320, (e.g., readinga CD-ROM disk 1322 or, to read from or write to other high capacityoptical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive 1314, magnetic diskdrive 1316 and optical disk drive 1320 can be connected to the systembus 1308 by a hard disk drive interface 1324, a magnetic disk driveinterface 1326 and an optical drive interface 1328, respectively. Theinterface 1324 for external drive implementations includes at least oneor both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 interfacetechnologies. Other external drive connection technologies are withincontemplation of the subject specification.

The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 1302, the drives and mediaaccommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to aHDD, a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media suchas a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat other types of media which are readable by a computer, such as zipdrives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and thelike, can also be used in the example operating environment, andfurther, that any such media can contain computer-executableinstructions for performing the methods of the specification.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 1312,including an operating system 1330, one or more application programs1332, other program modules 1334 and program data 1336. All or portionsof the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 1312. It is appreciated that the specification can beimplemented with various proprietary or commercially available operatingsystems or combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1302 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 1338 and apointing device, such as a mouse 1340. Other input devices (not shown)can include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad,a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devicesare often connected to the processing unit 1304 through an input deviceinterface 1342 that is coupled to the system bus 1308, but can beconnected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 1344 or other type of display device is also connected to thesystem bus 1308 via an interface, such as a video adapter 1346. Inaddition to the monitor 1344, a computer typically includes otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 1302 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 1348. The remotecomputer(s) 1348 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer1302, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device1350 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted includewired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1352 and/orlarger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1354. Such LAN and WANnetworking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, andfacilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all ofwhich can connect to a global communications network, e.g., theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1302 isconnected to the local network 1352 through a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network interface or adapter 1356. The adapter 1356 canfacilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1352, which canalso include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicatingwith the wireless adapter 1356.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1302 can includea modem 1358, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN1354, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN1354, such as by way of the Internet. The modem 1358, which can beinternal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to thesystem bus 1308 via the input device interface 1342. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1302, orportions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device1350. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexample and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers can be used.

The computer 1302 is operable to communicate with any wireless devicesor entities operatively disposed in wireless communication, e.g., aprinter, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable dataassistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or locationassociated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand,restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™wireless technologies. Thus, the communication can be a predefinedstructure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoccommunication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from acouch at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a conference room at work,without wires. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in acell phone that enables such devices, e.g., computers, to send andreceive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a basestation. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b,g, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. AWi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to theInternet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet).Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, atan 11 Mbps (802.11a) or 54 Mbps (802.11b) data rate, for example, orwith products that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks canprovide real-world performance similar to the basic 10 BaseT wiredEthernet networks used in many offices.

The aforementioned systems have been described with respect tointeraction among several components. It should be appreciated that suchsystems and components can include those components or sub-componentsspecified therein, some of the specified components or sub-components,and/or additional components. Sub-components can also be implemented ascomponents communicatively coupled to other components rather thanincluded within parent components. Additionally, it should be noted thatone or more components could be combined into a single componentproviding aggregate functionality. The components could also interactwith one or more other components not specifically described herein butknown by those of skill in the art.

What has been described above includes examples of the subjectspecification. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing the subject specification, but one of ordinary skill in theart can recognize that many further combinations and permutations of thesubject specification are possible. Accordingly, the subjectspecification is intended to embrace all such alterations, modificationsand variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used ineither the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended tobe inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: transmitting, by a deviceand to a plurality of vehicles located in a same geographic region, arequest to provide velocity information; receiving, by the device, aresponse to the request from a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, theresponse including the velocity information; and in response toreceiving the response, transmitting, by the device, a suppressionsignal to one or more other vehicles of the plurality of vehicles, thesuppression signal to cancel the request.
 2. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the same geographic region comprises a segment of aroadway, the method further comprising validating the velocityinformation as credible velocity information for the segment of theroadway prior to transmitting the suppression signal.
 3. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the device is associated with a particularvehicle in the same geographic region.
 4. The method as recited in claim3, wherein transmitting the request is performed in response to theparticular vehicle entering the same geographic region.
 5. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein a portion of vehicles of the plurality ofvehicles are not members of a travel information sharing service.
 6. Themethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising, in response toreceiving the response, associating a reward with the vehicle, thereward including at least one of transferring money to a bank accountassociated with the vehicle, transferring a toll credit to a tollaccount associated with the vehicle, or transferring points that can beused to obtain a product or a service to a points account associatedwith the vehicle.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein therequest is transmitted in response to detecting traffic congestion inthe same geographic region.
 8. A device comprising: one or moreprocessors; and memory comprising computer-executable instructions that,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to:determine a road segment currently being traveled by a vehicleassociated with the device; broadcast a request for vehicles in the roadsegment to provide velocity information; receive a response to therequest from a responding vehicle, the response including the velocityinformation; and in response to receiving the response, broadcast asuppression signal to the vehicles to cancel the request.
 9. The deviceof claim 8, wherein the computer-executable instructions further causethe device to determine a direction of travel of the vehicle, whereinthe request indicates the direction of travel of the vehicle, andwherein the responding vehicle is traveling in the direction of travelof the vehicle.
 10. The one or more computer storage media of claim 9,wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the deviceto: determine a next road segment based, at least in part, on the roadsegment and the direction of travel of the vehicle; and afterbroadcasting the request and before receiving the response, waiting fora period of time to elapse before broadcasting a next request for anupcoming vehicle in the next road segment to provide at least one of anext velocity information or a next location information, and whereinthe suppression signal further cancels the next request.
 11. The deviceof claim 8, wherein the computer-executable instructions further causethe device to validate the velocity information as credible velocityinformation for the road segment currently being traveled prior tobroadcasting the suppression signal.
 12. The device of claim 8, whereinthe vehicle and the responding vehicle are members of a travelinformation sharing service.
 13. The device of claim 8, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions further cause the device to associate areward with the responding vehicle.
 14. A system comprising: one or moreprocessors; memory coupled to the one or more processors; a networkinterface coupled to the one or more processors; and computer-readableinstructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or moreprocessors to: receive, via the network interface, a request to provideat least one of velocity information or location information in ageographic region; in response to receiving the request, determine atleast one of a response velocity information or a response locationinformation to include in a response to the request; receive, via thenetwork interface, a suppression signal, the suppression signal tocancel the request; and in response to receiving the suppression signal,canceling the response to the request.
 15. The system of claim 14,wherein the system further comprises a global positioning device, andwherein the geographic region is determined, at least in part, based onoutput of the global positioning device.
 16. The system of claim 14,wherein the response is scheduled to be sent after a period of time haselapsed.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the period of time isdetermined, based at least in part, by a random number generator. 18.The system of claim 14, wherein the system is part of a vehicle.
 19. Thesystem of claim 18, wherein: the device from which the request isreceived is associated with a requesting vehicle; and the vehicle andthe requesting vehicle are members of a travel information sharingservice.
 20. The system of claim 18, further comprising one or moresensors, wherein at least one of the response velocity information orthe response location information is determined, based at least in part,on output from the one or more sensors.